Deciding Factor
by SpaceIsTheLimit
Summary: Itachi takes the initiative to get his girlfriend back. Part 27 of the ItaIzu Not Very Refined Series. And Part 3, the final part, of The Uchiha Secret.


The courtroom broke out into chaos. Sasuke was too shocked to do anything, Ibiki along with other FBI agents grabbed Sasuke and hauled him away. Leaving shocked, confused, and remorseful faces all around the courtroom.

.

It's been three days. _Three whole days._ Since Sasuke had been put in prison indefinitely. Mikoto was a wreck and it took a lot for Fugaku to even get her to leave her room. Shisui was at a loss with Shosuke still being missing. Hana was recovering from the burns at home but it wasn't the same without their son.

Obito and Rin never left their house. They wanted to make sure nothing could happen to Haru, Sora, or Indra. Madara and Thea hadn't spoken to the family in a while and it seemed they were arguing at the moment. Which just added fuel to the fire.

Izuna and Maria were doing all they could do. Izuna was trying to think of a way to find Shosuke and Izumi to at least have one win for the family but to no avail. The entire family was in discord. Headlines were streaming everywhere. About how the Uchiha harbored a murderer for years. Others spoke about Naruto and his feelings for Sasuke. And at this point, a small margin was still saying free Sasuke. Due to publicity, all of Sasuke's friends who had #freeSasuke took it down.

And Itachi…

Itachi was wounded. Both physically and mentally. He lost this case. A case that was more important than anything he's ever done before. And now his brother was in jail because of it. Prison. No place for Sasuke at all. His body aches from all the pain he went through trying to get Izumi back.

And he still didn't have her back. Which made him get more bitter every hour. He wanted to smoke, he wanted to drink but he knew Izumi wouldn't approve. He hadn't slept this entire time. He couldn't sleep without someone by his side anymore.

Monsieur wasn't around much these days either. He was working to find Izumi and Shosuke. Which he was highly grateful for but it just made him think about the fact that Izumi was still gone. Every time he was around he'd do his best to get Itachi up and less depressed but to no avail. He sat up in his bed and reached for his phone. He'd bought a new one after tossing the old one out.

It probably wasn't a good idea but he couldn't think of anything else to do at this point. He stared at pictures of Izumi. Fuck, my life is shit right now. Itachi tossed the phone next to him and sighed. He recalled he had a pack of cigarettes under their not very recently shared bed. He shouldn't, he knows he shouldn't. But, what should he do? He lost his brother, nephew, girlfriend, and sanity in the span of two weeks. Right before he could give up and get his bottle of scotch, he got a text from an unknown number. He was ready to break another phone until he saw the message.

**-It's Kakashi. Come find me and Shin here. Can't say much until you get here.**

Itachi shot up fast despite the aching pain in his body from the bruises he'd endured. A gun shot wound, a brick being thrown at his body, bushes scratching his skin, and most of all, emotionally. He grabbed his coat, phone, and motorcycle keys (he'd gotten a new one. he's rich, remember?) then left the house. He raced to the location faster than he could even process in his brain. It was far and the area was secluded, quiet, desolate. Perfect for a Root hideout. He parked the motorcycle a ways away and got off. He regrets not calling someone to tell them where he is because he had no cell service here. He scratched his messy hair and shrugged. Now or never, he didn't care anymore.

Itachi snuck to the back of the building and was greeted by a gray haired man in an old Root uniform. He felt a little bit of relief. "Kakashi."

Kakashi perked and turned to see the voice calling out to him. "You were quick. I sent the location to you and Fugaku. Fugaku is probably sending FBI or SWAT here so we don't have much time. Follow me." Itachi complied and followed him inside. "Listen, I wanted to contact the Uchiha for a while now, but I didn't expect Noriko to take action so soon."

Itachi rose a brow, "Noriko?"

"Danzo's successor. There's a lot you don't know and I want to show it all to you. Get proof, get Sasuke out of prison. Also, to find your lady."

Itachi widened his eyes, "Where is she? Tell me."

Kakashi groaned. "I'd love to tell you. But I could actually get killed." Kakashi stopped their little walk through the building outside of a room. He pulled out a key and unlocked it, opening the door and letting Itachi in. "Get in. Find what you need, get Izumi and get out of here. This is all I can do for you now."

Itachi turned around to face him. "Wait. Why did you wait so long?" Kakashi gave him a weak smile.

"I'm sorry. I thought I could spy on Root and keep them quiet. Let the Uchiha live for a bit. I didn't know Noriko would be so persistent in tearing you down. You were just a kid to me when it all started. Truly started. I didn't want your whole lives to revolve around this."

Itachi scoffed, "So you didn't contact us because you were _protecting_ us? Spare me Kakashi, I've been subjected to too much crap."

Kakashi chuckled lightly. "Just like your mother. Maybe I was just protecting myself. From Root getting rid of me and Shin. Please, let's discuss later, be careful."

Itachi nodded reluctantly and went into the room fully. He was going to turn back around to close the door but it slammed. He heard a struggle outside the door and a muffled cry. A cry that sounded similar to Kakashi. Itachi moved to open the door but it was locked. "Damn. Kakashi!" He banged on the door as loudly as he could. "Kakashi! Kakashi, come on!" When no response came for a few minutes, Itachi sighed and looked around the room.

The room was dank and musky. It had files laying around everywhere. Itachi gathered himself together and did the first thing he could think of. Look for an escape route. There was a small window, maybe if he didn't have any muscle he could fit. There was an air vent as well. He may be low right now, but not that low. His only option left was busting down the door or sitting there. He wasn't taking the latter. Itachi began to move through the room and look at the files. He picked one up that had a distinct date.

He opened the file and saw Danzo's record of the day he was entered in the hospital. He flipped through and saw pictures of a strange woman in a nurse outfit. There was Danzo in his hospital bed. It looked like they were talking.

He went to another file and saw Obito after he was almost crushed by that rock in the emergency room. The same nurse stole some type of vile off his night stand. Another image showed Shisui showing her the way back to Danzo's room. He read a page of information that spoke of what the vile had. "…Isn't this the equivalent of cyanide? What the hell?" Itachi took pictures and tried to find the following file, to no avail. He went to the back of the room and saw tapes and a television. He grabbed one with the same date that was titled, "Danzo's Death Bed." He fast forwarded to the strange woman in the room with Danzo. He began to record with his phone.

She used the vile and injected into his arm and he seemed…to have encouraged it. She pulled out his life line and watched him die while crying? Crying? She killed him, why was she crying? He took more pictures then moved towards the door. Now to figure out how to escape.

.

Izumi held the hope that Shin and Kakashi were on her side and trying to help her. She was about to look for her phone when she heard crying. She perked and cautiously moved towards the opposite door and opened it slowly. She gasped when she saw baby Shosuke there crying his heart out. Izumi made her way to him and tried to calm his tears. "How could human beings be so terrible?" She held him in her arms and glanced around. She needed to get out of here.

She went back to the main room and jostled with the door and groaned. She rested Shosuke on a nearby table and cracked her knuckles and moved her head around. Bouncing up and down in place to motivate herself.

She knows all the Uchiha are capable of kicking down doors, and she's never tried it before, but she was positive if she tried hard enough it could work. And hey, if she wanted to be an Uchiha one day she needed to do this. She lifted her leg slowly and kicked. Obviously the first time it didn't work and she yelped in pain. She sucked in tears and tried again. She lifted her leg shakily and kicked._ "Fuck!"_ That time really hurt. She was about to give up when she saw Shosuke crying silently and she grit her teeth. She couldn't give up. She lifted her leg again for the final time, confidently. She kicked and to her surprised the door creaked open.

She sighed in pain and carried up Shosuke to leave. She limped out and was greeted by a pair of arms grabbing her. A man in front of her pointed a gun to her face and she gasped almost dropping the crying Shosuke. She was about to clench her eyes shut and let whatever was about to happen just happen. Until the man behind her fainted and the man with the gun in front of her was knocked out. She opened her eyes and saw the man named Shin in front of her.

He looked back down at her. "Hey," his voice was shaky. "I just helped you and now I'm screwed. So I might as well help you escape. Follow me and make the baby shut up." She watched his retreating form and held Shosuke closer following after Shin carefully.

.

"I want the FBI, SWAT, Special Operations, Police, anyone! Send them there now!"

Mikoto sniffled, "Think about this rationally Fugaku. The FBI is led by Ibiki, he won't listen to your demands. And if Kakashi sent Itachi the message than no doubt Itachi is there now. He can't be caught there, especially not by Special Operations."

"I don't care! I'm not letting anything else go to shit Mikoto!"

Madara sighed. "Bro, I get it. But listen to your wife. Not only will Itachi be in danger, but Izumi, Shosuke, and everyone else involved. Think about this."

Fugaku groaned and fell onto his couch. He let out a shaky sigh, "What should I do? One son is an emotional mess, the other in prison. My – my whole family is a mess. I thought we were _done_ with Root. With this crap, but I guess not. Last time we hid it. But they brought everyone into it this time. I don't know what to do and it…_it scares me_. It scares the hell out of me and I hate it. I always have a solution, but I'm at a loss. No one will believe us, and now the world hates us. They believe that we're murderers, liars, cheaters. This could ruin the Empire we've worked so _hard_ to build. To top it all off? Shosuke, Haru, and Sora's lives are ruined before they've even started. This…is all my fault."

By the end of his rant, Fugaku's eyes were glassy and his hands were shaking. Mikoto bit her bottom lip and hugged her husband. Madara was about to do the same but his phone buzzed. He grumbled and pulled it out. He thought it was Thea telling him to come home already. But no, it was from an unknown number. "…Shin messaged me."

Mikoto glared up at him as if saying, 'is now the best time?' But Madara ignored her. "He sent me the location and asked for immediate help." Madara wanted to ask what to do but he knew Fugaku was at a loss. "I'm going to call Hashirama."

Fugaku looked up. "What? Don't get the Senju involved, they deal with more shit than us."

Madara wanted to roll his eyes but didn't. "We don't have _any options_. Hashirama can get us through to Sarutobi and contact the ANBU. If it's them, then Ibiki will definitely listen to any demands and we can get the FBI. Kakashi wouldn't have called us in if he didn't know the situation and didn't have solid proof Sasuke was innocent. With that, we already have Itachi, Shin, and Kakashi at their hideout as we speak. They'll find and rescue Izumi along with Shosuke. By then, ANBU and FBI will be there."

Mikoto gave him an unreadable stare, "There's so many 'what ifs' and holes in that plan."

Madara shrugged, "Have a better one?"

Mikoto clamped shut, Madara hummed. "Thought so," he clicked his tongue and dialed a number, "I'm calling Hashirama."

The phone rang a good three times before Hashirama picked up, "Hello? Madara? You…never usually call me. Is there a problem? Heh, I'd expect you to call Minato if anything -"

"Minato and Kushina left as soon as the trial started. They didn't want to get caught up again. They're squatting in Michigan I believe. That's not why I called you anyway."

Hashirama shuffled over his end and coughed nervously. "Um. Why did you then? If this is about…uh, _before_. That was a moment of weakness. I know you've done stuff behind Thea's back, but I'd never actually cheat on Mito!"

"Hashirama! I'm not calling for that either, _Jesus_. I need you to contact Sarutobi for me. We need ANBU."

Hashirama coughed over the line violently. "Guh – what? Madara…I haven't seen him in years. Why didn't you call Tobi? He'd know. I don't really – "

"Hashirama. This is important and you know Tobirama wouldn't do any favor coming from me. Please. I'm begging here. This is a rare occurrence.

Hashirama sighed. "I-I'll see what I can do. I'll call you later."

"Thank you. Please hurry." Hashirama hummed and hung up. Madara watched Mikoto rub Fugaku's back and slowly dose off. Madara made his way to the next room to call as many people as he could to solve their budding (way past budding actually) problem.

.

Sakura watched the news channel cover the Uchiha for only the millionth time. _"No one would've expected this. From what we saw of the trial, Sasuke was very hostile, but I didn't expect him to be seen as guilty. You think you know somebody. Truly, this means all the Uchiha must be hiding some type of secret that they don't want the world to know about. Yet, we are still indulging in giving these filthy people profit. If anything, their market rose above the charts. The world is so convoluted in times like these. We need to take action. The Uchiha, at this point, _are menace to society – "

Sakura switched the channel to Gossip News.

_"A little while ago we were covering the SasuSaku breakup. And now so much has happened. Sasuke in prison? This really isn't how it should be."_

_"…I don't know." J.L. responded. "The Uchiha have been friends in arms for so long, I don't think this can be true. We've seen Sasuke for years, he couldn't kill somebody and we don't even know the full story. Itachi was fighting so hard."_

_Sarah nodded, "The question everyone is asking themselves; is Sasuke Uchiha innocent and has been falsely accused or have he and the Uchiha been lying to our faces about who they really are for years – "_

Sakura switched the television off. She couldn't believe this all happened, and so fast too. She stood up and left her home, she couldn't just sit around. The guards won't allow Sasuke to have any visitors and she's not sure she should go see him in any case. She locked her front door and made her way to her car. She hasn't made contact with any of her friends in a long while (including Ino, who she said she'd text). The one she was the most worried about was Naruto. The press had been attacking him ever since the trial. Her as well, but he let out that he'd felt something more for Sasuke which didn't shock her that much really. She knew the character of her friend, he falls easily. She noticed it back when Sasuke and Naruto were causally sleeping together too. Naruto was subtle about it but she saw through the ruse. Sasuke was oblivious to those types of things.

She drove down to Naruto's place. It was big but always messy. Naruto was rarely home. Often in somebody else's bed or drunk off his ass in his parents house. She really needed to talk to her friends about their lifestyle. Getting there was a journey, hiding her face was annoying but she managed. It was night so it wasn't too hard. She knocked on his door lightly and spoke in a soft voice, "Naruto?" The door opened and she was disappointed that it wasn't locked. She coughed as she walked in. There was smoke everywhere. So Naruto was probably high. Awesome. Sakura looked around and found him passed out on the floor in his kitchen. There was a blunt in his hand and he was only in his boxers. She crouched down and flipped him over. She lifted her hand and smacked him clear across his face. Naruto shot up with a groan.

"Ah! Ow…What was that for? Shit."

"One of these days I feel like I'm going to walk in and you'll be dead on the floor instead of passed out."

Naruto scratched the back of his head and lifted himself up. "Damn, my ass hurts. There's probably a fucking bloke in my bed right now." So he ignored what Sakura said, nice.

Sakura led him to sit down on his couch. "You usually go to a hotel, you're off your game Naruto." Naruto laughed bitterly.

"Probably. So…why are you here?"

Sakura glared at him, "I think you know why. We've got to talk. About the trial."

Naruto furrowed her brows and stood up to leave, "I'm not talking about shit."

Sakura knew he'd be difficult. "Naruto, a lot happened and I know the press is up your ass, but don't shut me out right now. I'm defeated about what happened too, and I just want to have one of my friends with me through it." Naruto shuffled through his living room, looking for something. Sakura grit her teeth when he found it. A vape gun. Sakura shot up and smacked it out of his hand.

"Hey! God, Sakura what is your problem?"

"I'm not going to watch you kill yourself!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Let me live woman." He snagged a bottle of vodka from his counter and popped it open, gulping it down before Sakura could react. He fell onto the couch and ruffled his own hair. "I'm good Sakura. Just go. This is like a normal Saturday for me."

"It's not Saturday." She took the vodka and placed it behind her then kneeled in front of him. "Naruto, I love you, you know that. Did you think I didn't know how you felt about Sasuke?"

"This is exactly what I didn't want to talk about. It's not a big deal – "

"But it is! I know you fall easy and it's hard for you to pick up the pieces when rejected, truly rejected. It makes sense that Sasuke would fall on the list of rejections. I know Sasuke isn't the most…understanding person. But had you told him he wouldn't have kept on with your relationship, he wouldn't have wanted to hurt you like that. You know that right?"

Naruto sat up, "I know that. That's why I didn't tell him. When it comes to that, I feel the physical more than the emotional. I knew he was feeling you so it didn't really matter to me if he knew or not. In the end Sasuke was – _is_ my bro. I knew I'd get over it so it was whatever."

Sakura punched his shoulder and frowned. "Your self-deprecation is terrible. Don't overlook your own feelings for others anymore, it's unhealthy. Please."

Naruto gave her a weak smile. "Yeah…okay. Just so you know, that was a _long_ time ago. I…like Hinata now. The actual thought of being with Sasuke in that sense disgusts me to my very core." Only to add to that thought Naruto shuddered violently. Sakura smacked his arm playfully.

"Yeah I know. But I also already knew it was a long time ago. If you still liked him I wouldn't care."

Naruto smirked, "Sure you wouldn't. Keep telling yourself that." Before Sakura could reply, a strange groan and something that sounded like glass breaking was heard. "Guess the bloke woke up." Sakura snickered.

.

Itachi thought this building was way too easy to get around to belong to Root. They must've gone down the drain architecturally, but smarter on their techniques to tear people down. Clearly with how shit his life was right now. He could hear so much shuffling while inside the room and was disappointed that Kakashi didn't return. He went with his second option and stayed in the file room. He's hurt himself over the past few days more than enough. He found all that he needed to while in the file room and was trying to get service, naturally it didn't work.

Itachi sighed and sat down on the floor, immediately grimacing. "Ow, what the hell did I sit on?" He moved over and saw a floor plate that was all out of place. He rose a brow and broke it off with ease. It was a dusty area that had something shiny under all the dust. He coughed a bit and carefully grabbed the shiny thing. He hummed when he saw it was a key. "Huh. How lucky." He stood up and dusted the keys off. There were three keys on the chain, he might as well try all three. One of the keys was gold with initials in them. D.S. He can only guess that the initials stood for Danzo Shimura. The next key was black and plain. The third being silver with some type of number on it. S-49167. He'll remember that.

He tried the black one first. No dice.

Then the silver one and nothing. He hope the gold one wouldn't disappoint. He tried it and sighed din relief when it worked. He cracked open the door and looked around before stepping out and closing the door behind him. He glanced down and saw an unconscious body and gasped. "Kakashi! Hey, Kakashi get up. Damn it." Itachi knew he couldn't carry an unconscious man's body around while looking for Izumi and Shosuke (well he could but he wouldn't). He tried waking Kakashi again and frowned when he didn't. He thought the worst for a second until he checked and he still had a pulse.

Itachi reopened the room and hid Kakashi in a corner vowing to himself to come and get him later.

He nearly ran out of the room when he heard screaming and yelling down the hallway. He hid himself behind a all and peeked over quietly. He saw a blonde haired woman in a black suit like she was preparing for something. She was the one who was yelling at…Genma!? He just knew Genma was Root affiliated.

"I don't give a shit about anything you're telling me! I told you to do one thing! And that was to get _rid_ of Itachi and make sure Sasuke was in prison. Itachi was only shot and Sasuke's sentence isn't as drastic as I wanted. And now you want me to_…to help_ _you?_ Get out of here. Do a job right and I'll think about it." Itachi widened his eyes. He knew Root hired a hit man on him, but they really intended to kill him. And Sasuke sentence wasn't good enough? Itachi calmed himself and kept listening on.

He heard Genma sigh, "Noriko, I didn't – "

"_Shut_ up, shut _up_, _shut up_!" She stomped her foot as of she was having a tantrum. This was Noriko? Danzo's successor? He can't see the resemblance. "I'm going to give you two options. Either you bring an Uchiha down here to negotiate, or you let someone useful like Shin escort you out. Naturally you'll be silenced within a day, so which do you want?" Ah, now he sees it.

"I…I'll bring an Uchiha here Noriko."

"What was that?"

"I meant, I'll bring an Uchiha here Noriko, _ma'am_." Noriko seemed to calm down and smiled at him. She patted his shoulder and then walked off in the direction opposite of where Itachi was hiding, thankfully.

Genma growled once she was gone and kicked the wall. He quickly whipped out his phone and dialed a number. He muttered to himself that he was just going to call Itachi about discussing the prior trial and sending him the address. Before Itachi could process this fully, his phone rang obnoxiously loud. Which was really just stupid. For one, now he has service? Second, when did he turn notifications on, and he recalls silencing his phone. Until he realized he didn't silence his work phone. Why did he even bring his work phone damn it!

He felt his heart pound when Genma heard the noise. "What the hell? Who's there? Show yourself!" Itachi had only a few days to escape this predicament. Either he runs away and gets shot (again), stay silent and let Genma find him or confront Genma. He didn't think through the options fully and revealed himself.

"Wha – Itachi?! Oh this is my lucky day. I don't know how you found out where we are, but Noriko will be pleased to see you." Genma was about to yell for backup when Itachi tried to quell him.

"Before you out me to your entire organization, which there doesn't seem to be many people apart of it. Why don't we make a deal? I'll come with you quietly and listen to your demands. But you have to release both the people you kidnapped."

Genma scoffed, "And if I refuse?"

"I don't think you have a choice here. Noriko didn't seem too pleased with you. You have to take the deal or else I'm not doing a thing."

"You think I can't take you by force?"

"You can try." They held a glare on each other for a while until Genma chewed the inside of his mouth and grumbled. He pulled out handcuffs and walked towards Itachi. "I said I'll come quietly. Why the handcuffs?"

"Safety procedure, I know all you Japs have some type of martial arts under your belt."

Itachi furrowed his brows. Wow, Japs. Resorting to racial slang. "Fucking racist." He mumbled, "Root was started by a Japanese man, what does that say about you that you need help from them to even win a trial?" Itachi will always be salty about that after all.

Genma made the handcuffs extra tight for that comment. He kicked Itachi's back and was angry when he kept his footing. "Get moving before I change my mind." He was bluffing, Itachi knew this.

"Easy on the goods." Itachi snarled back, Genma ignored him and led him down the hallway to some secluded area. There were a lot of rooms around and one of them was busted open with two unconscious guards laying on the floor. He heard Genma gasp in shock.

_"Genma! Kakashi! Get the **fuck** over here_ now!"

Itachi whistled at the clairvoyant anger in her tone. Genma cursed and dragged Itachi to the end of the hallway where a door that looked like it led to a closet was. It wasn't a closet Itachi found out when Genma walled in and there was a huge office. Noriko was there looking upset whilst sitting in her huge chair like a mob boss. She kind of was in a sense. Before she could blow a fuse Genma kicked Itachi in the back again, this time able to knock him off his footing and fall to the floor with red carpeting.

"Ma'am." Genma sounded smug.

"….What's this?" Noriko chuckled, "You got an Uchiha over here so quickly? And Itachi nonetheless." Genma nodded.

"I found him lurking in the halls and brought him here immediately. He basically begged me to not reveal him, but I gave him a good beating and here we are." Itachi scoffed and picked himself up on his knees.

"No need to lie Genma. Us _Japs_ have martial arts, remember? No way you could beat me." Noriko saw through Genma's bullshit too.

She got out of her chair and went around the desk. Itachi could hear the clicking of her heels reaching in front of him. She smelled faintly of vanilla and spice. Itachi would've found the smell attractive in any other circumstance. She leaned down in front of him and smiled at him. Itachi glanced up to meet her in the eyes. "You're much prettier in person." She seemed to be looking over his face with adoration. _"So_ _much_ prettier."

Itachi snuffed, "I have a girlfriend."

Noriko giggled (he would've found that attractive any other time as well) and brushed hair out of his face much to his chagrin. "I know. I've met her." That set him off.

_"Where is she?_ It would be Ill advised to lie to me too because I'm in a bad mood."

Noriko huffed, "So hostile. Making demands while handcuffed. Only an Uchiha." She stood back up and went to her desk while leaning on it. She looked over at Genma, "Alright Genma, good job. Figure out what happened down the hall for the soldiers to pass out and find Kakashi. I haven't seen him since we moved Izumi and Shosuke." Hearing their names off her tongue made him want to vomit. Genma did as told and left, closing the closet door behind him. Noriko smiled at Itachi again.

"So, pretty boy, 28, right? I'm 34, it could happen." She laughed at his expression. "I'm teasing you. Well, not really. But I hate you and your family so there would be a lot of angry sex."

Itachi ignored the sex comment. "I still don't know why Root hates us. We did what everyone Danzo exploited for profit wanted to do. We caught him in the act and stopped him. Root decided they didn't like that and attacked us, us retaliating was inevitable."

"Would you still say that if your brother didn't get arrested?"

"_Yes_. I'd still say it to Danzo's fucking corpse."

Noriko glared at him, "You insolent little…" she laughed it off. "No, it's okay. I promised him I'd be mature in front of you all. Your family is intimidating, he knew that." She crossed the room and grabbed something from a desk and threw it in front of Itachi. "You know what that is?" It was the Uchiha Secret book so of course he knew.

"How do you have this?"

"You really think your family had the last copy? That's not even the last copy. Root has over one hundred copies. We could've exploited you all a long time ago."

Itachi widened his eyes. "_What_?"

Noriko waved him off. "But I'm not about that anymore. I want something more from all of you. Those books are just a countermeasure."

"…What do you want from us?"

Noriko sighed. "I want for you all to stop being famous. Stop making profit. Stop _lying_ to the world about who you are."

"Who are we lying to!? We aren't bad people like you!"

"Don't fuck with me! You killed Danzo!"

"_You_ killed Danzo!" Noriko silenced herself. Itachi probably made a mistake by revealing he knew that. But he didn't care. Sasuke didn't do shit and he's not letting him take the lies anymore. "You injected him with some shit and then unplugged his life support machine. You killed your "mentor." So tell me, what exactly is it that we did that was so wrong? You almost crushed Obito with a fucking boulder when he found your little hideout. You pushed Shisui off a damn cliff when he saw Root members hiding a _dead body_. You pushed Indra to call in covert groups because you were threatening the life of everyone we cared about. Now you're telling me _we're_ _the_ _bad_ _guys_? My brother is in prison now, you _hemorrhaging_ _fuck_. I haven't seen my girlfriend because you decided kidnapping was the best way to get some Uchiha here, and you got what you wanted. Shisui and Hana don't have their kid because so you. And we're the bad guys. Does any of that make sense to you?"

Noriko stared at him then chuckled. Then laughed and began to do so uncontrollably. Itachi swore if he didn't have these handcuffs on he would've strangled her (which is why he was thankful in that moment that he had them, he doesn't hit women, thank you). "You're not wrong. We did do all of that. And it was warranted, you got in our way. But I told you what I wanted and that's what I'm getting. I'll get rid of you one by one. And since you're here I'll just…have to kill you?" She shrugged. "Might as well. I don't know how else to get rid of you, you've got a clean slate. Sasuke was an easy first target."

_I'm going to fucking drag her down by her poorly bleached hair and break her **fucking** **skull**. _Itachi realized he was much more violent then he let on.

"Sorry, I wouldn't kill you, you're pretty. But since you know I killed Danzo on his orders I have to." Noriko picked something up from her desk and it looked like the same vile she used on Danzo. She crept towards him and kneeled down, point the vile towards him. Itachi showed no fear and only glared. "Once Sasuke dies in jail, he can say hi to you in hell."

"I'll tell Danzo you miss him." Noriko grunted and started to point the vile towards his arm. Itachi didn't even struggle. _I didn't even find Izumi. _He inwardly sighed. _I'm sorry._ He felt something poke him and grit his teeth.

This was _it._ This was _it_.

…this was it.

.

"Where are you taking me?" Izumi carefully asked the stranger she knew as Shin. Said Shin turned down a corridor and groaned when he didn't see what he was looking for in a room.

"Uh. I'm looking for your boyfriend." Izumi widened her eyes.

"He's _here!?_ Thank God. Or wait, did they take him too? Is he okay? They didn't…hurt him, did they? Where is he? When did he get here? After me, same time, with Shosuke? How come we were put separately from each other – "

"There it is!" Shin ran towards a door and Izumi struggled to keep up with him while carrying a whimpering Shosuke. Shin opened the door and looked around as did Izumi. She moved to the back of the room and gasped at the man laying on the floor. Shin followed her and went to the man's side immediately. "Kakashi! Oh, damn." Shin looked in his pockets and pulled out some rag. He held it up to Kakashi's nose and Izumi watched as Kakashi regained consciousness and jumped up. "Chill, _chill_."

Kakashi panted, "Shin. Itachi he…was here. What happened?"

"Genma probably happened, the jealous motherfucker." Shin helped Kakashi up. "I found the girl and the boy. By my estimation, ANBU should be here soon. I'd give us an hour."

Kakashi groaned, "Damn it. Not much time. Alright, here's the plan – "

Genma hushed him. "Nope Kakashi. _I've_ got the plan. Man, Iruka was right, you are controlling." Kakashi blushed under his mask. "It's simple, we find Itachi, get him and them," he pointed to Izumi and Shosuke, "to the exit and send a drop off to Fugaku so they know where to find them. Then Itachi gets the evidence to the police, Sasuke gets out and happy ending."

Izumi doubted things would go that quietly. Kakashi seemed to think so too. "I hope things will run that smoothly. But first priority isn't finding Itachi, it's finding Noriko. She's carrying the letter that has the address of the storehouse. We have t get rid of those copies of the Uchiha Secret. _Then_ comes Itachi." Kakashi looked over at Izumi. "I'm sorry, but Itachi can handle himself for now. We'll find him, I swear."

Izumi looked down and nodded. She understood the situation was dire. She didn't know how much so, but if her life was in danger then it was.

Shin said they should get out of there and find Noriko and they followed suite.

.

Minato wasn't prone to answering anonymous phone calls. But he just felt like this was important. Kushina was angry about it since they were watching their favorite movie at the moment. But it could be really important. He has good intuition. He went to the other room and answered brightly. "Namikaze Minato, you might have the wrong number, if not please tell me who you are so I can save your number! Thank you."

"Minato."

Minato froze. Kushina went into the room and went into the restroom behind him. "H-Hashirama." Kushina turned back around when she heard that name. She went towards Minato and motioned for him to hang up. "Why'd you call?" Against his better judgement, he stayed on the line.

"I know this is sudden and you don't want to be wrangled in the Uchiha and Senju mess. But I really need for you to call Sarutobi and bring in the ANBU for me. It's Root again."

"I – what? You know I can't do that. Saru disbanded – "

"We both know ANBU is still lurking around somewhere. Please, your name won't even be involved. This is a burner phone, you and Kushina will be completely safe. I'll have ANBU monitor Naruko and Naruto if your concerned about that."

Minato furrowed his brows, "That isn't the issue. I don't care if you keep it a secret. I want no part of it, _at all._"

Hashirama sighed. "Please. I know you keep off social,media while away so I wanted you to know this. Sasuke…was found guilty. The Uchiha are in a tight spot. Please Minato."

Minato was silent. "I'll be right back." He muted the call and looked at Kushina who seemed pissed.

"Minato, we agreed we wouldn't get involved."

"I know, but it's…they're in a tight spot, honey." Kushina groaned.

"We were in a tight spot when they asked us to leave for so long, I don't want that again! I want to live with my family for once, Minato."

"Sasuke was found guilty." Kushina paused.

"…Oh, that's – "

"Imagine if that was Naruto or Naruko, we'd be defeated and try anything to get them out."

Kushina took the phone from Minato and unmuted the call. She answered for him, "He'll do it. What it takes to help, he'll do it."

.

Monsieur couldn't help but to think of his "young master." Itachi had been depressed lately and he…has a clenching feeling when he sees that. A pull at his heart or something. He'd been around Itachi for a long time. Long enough to know the type of person he was and what he does to cope (Monsieur _hated_ Anko for that record). Monsieur didn't like having to leave Itachi to suffer alone, but the sooner Monsieur gets to the bottom of this the sooner Itachi can smile again.

He knocked on the door of the house he arrived at. It took a while, but the person he was looking for answered. The man himself was disheveled and had a scowl on his face. "Who the hell are you?" When he called himself an acquaintance of the Uchiha the man groaned and let him in. "What do you need from me?"

"I just wanted to ask you something. Do you know where to find Tsunade?"

"How would I know that?"

"Because you know everything?"

"You know how to stroke my ego, I like that. Alright then. She's in Washington. Living with Jiraiya, I can give you the address but not until I know why you need her."

Monsieur huffed, "She's the only one close enough to leading ANBU. Uchiha need the straight line. We're unable to contact them directly anymore while the Senju and Namikaze and Hyuuga can."

"Well. I guess. Why didn't you just ask me?"

Monsieur smirked, "I miss Tsunade."

"Understandable. Someone will call you." Monsieur nodded and motioned towards the door to leave.

"Thank you, Hizashi."

.

…this was it.

Or so you'd think if it wasn't due to plot reasons! The door behind Itachi was busted open by a voice he knew he recognized. "Noriko. Breach on the third corridor, your men are screaming and it's annoying me."

Noriko groaned and tossed the vile to the man. "Ruin the fun why don't you? Fine, I'll handle it. Since we have a mutual hatred, can you kill him for me? Dump the body somewhere and I'll get you that prize I promised you." Noriko left the room. The person who interrupted the process cam around in front of Itachi.

"You look pathetic right now." Itachi slowly trailed his eyes upward and widened his eyes in shock at the person in front of him.

"Y-you…"

"Yeah, me. Surprised? All your enemies gathered in one place." Mark. Of all people, Mark. His indirect savior who was probably about to kill him. But Itachi could handle Mark, they're both men. Well, at least he's one. Mark came closer with the vile. Mark grinned, "Waited for this for a while." He reached his fist up and punched Itachi clear across the face. Itachi reacted immediately and head butt him to the ground. Mark then kicked him in the gut, Itachi grunted.

"You fucker!" Mark screeched. "I was trying to help you!"

"By _killing_ me?"

"I was going to set you free dumbass, I just wanted to punch you first!"

"Well then set me free you idiot!"

"Well I don't want to anymore!" They glared at each other before Mark gave in and took the hand cuffs off of Itachi. Itachi stood slowly and twists his wrists. He glared at Mark.

"What's stopping me from punching you?" _And kicking your ass out of a fucking window. _Much more violent than usual, and he's been mentally and verbally cursing up a storm.

"I know where Izumi is. That was the prize Noriko was talking about. I would take you to her but it seems she's escaped like the rat she is."

"I'm about to punch you." It was a guarantee not a threat.

Mark held up his hands, "Sorry, sorry. I'm out of here, things are about to go to shit. Oh and Itachi? Southwest window once I hear screaming, then I'm out."

"Huh?"

"You'll find out."

With that, Mark left him alone in the room. Itachi glanced around the room, thinking he could find something useful. He looked down at the book Noriko threw down at him. He picked it up and looked on the back of it. There was a sending address on it. Maybe that's where all the copies are that she was talking about. He took a picture of it and used a necessary amount of strength to tear the paperback book and throw it around the room. Itachi left the room and heard yelling along with people saying "put your hands up." That's never good.

He ran down the hall to find the room he knew Izumi and Shosuke had to be in.

Izumi, Shin, and Kakashi heard the struggling and began to run to find Noriko's office instead of going to her directly.

He passed by a fake tree and remembered that in his brain when he turned back around the opposite way.

They passed by some type of fake tree and Kakashi said it was the wrong way and they went down a different path.

Itachi found himself back at Noriko's office and groaned, going a different way, in a hallway with no rooms.

They made it to a hallway with no rooms and hear someone running. Shin had them hide behind a corner.

Itachi heard snuggling and his heart stopped, he glanced around and ran down a different way.

Once the running stopped they ran down an opposite way of the path they heard running coming from.

Itachi – Izumi – ran and ran and – he saw someone – she saw someone – it was – was that.

.

Shin and Kakashi stopped Izumi when they heard more yelling. Izumi looked in front of them and saw someone coming towards them and she squinted to see who it was exactly. She shushed Shosuke and pointed their attention towards the person. Shin was about to pull out a gun and Kakashi got into a defensive stance. As the person drew closer and closer, Itachi hid herself behind the two fake Root members and tried to silence herself. The footsteps stopped and she looked down. The…shoes on the person looked unbearably familiar.

Izumi slowly looked over Shin's shoulder and gasped at the person. Immediately she passed Shosuke to Kakashi. "I-Itachi?" Her voice broke. Itachi noticed her and stopped saying what he was saying. He was shocked, even more shocked than her. Izumi felt the tears pooling in her eyes and she couldn't help but to feel like this wasn't real. Itachi had the same reaction, his watery eyes made her want to squeeze him in a tight hug. So she did. She ran up to him and jumped into his arms. Itachi didn't hesitate to catch her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hid her face in the crook of his neck. Her legs wrapped around his waist easily. She didn't care if two strangers were watching, she balled her eyes out and wasn't making coherent sentences. Itachi wasn't doing much better.

His hand held the back of her head and his other was supporting her weight with no effort. "I thought I lost you." He whispered it in her ears Izumi pulled back and allowed herself to get a good look of him. His eyes were so watery. She's never seen him cry before, but this is the closest she's ever gotten. She kissed him sweetly and sighed while resting their foreheads together. Itachi helped her to get on her own feet but they were still hugging.

"You'll never lose me." She replied and took in his scent, basking in it. She relished the kiss he placed on top of her head. "Never." She repeated it. Itachi's breath hitched and his head fell to her shoulder. She kept her reaction tame when she felt something warm and wet seep through the makeshift shirt they gave her when she got here. She rubbed his back gently and mouthed a 'thank you' to Kakashi and Shin for being patient. Kakashi seemed to be happy they found each other. Shin looked remorseful. It took a minute, but Itachi gathered himself together. Izumi found out two things that day, Itachi was a silent crier (he had a small whimper but that was it), he didn't want her to see him cry and he was gorgeous afterwards. So three things. She helped him wipe his tears and she kissed his little pout and brushed hair out of his face (Itachi liked the way she did it much better than he did when Noriko did it).

Shin cleared his throat. "I don't mean to interrupt, but it sounds like ANBU got here sooner than expected. We've got Itachi, Izumi, Shosuke and the evidence. But we still need the address of the store house with those books."

Kakashi handed Shosuke back to Izumi as Itachi pulled out his phone, "Oh, I – " he cleared his throat and winced at his own voice. He forgot what it sounded like after he cried. Shin gave him a sympathetic smile and nodded for him to continue. To say he hated the pity was an understatement, but he appreciated the sentiment. "Noriko. She, uh, left one of them out when she tried to kind of kill me."

Izumi snapped her head towards him. "What?"

"Yeah…I took a picture of a sending address that was on the back of it." He showed the picture to Kakashi and Shin.

Kakashi blinked, "That's it. It has to be. So, we…we have everything. We did it, we can leave," they all sighed in relief.

But not all things could be so easy, "Stop right there!" Seven guards ran up behind them, armed. Four more appeared behind Izumi and Itachi. Itachi pulled her closer towards him and looked between the two groups of armed guards. They all heard a woman laughing and walking towards them. The guards made way for her.

It was Noriko, she looked at them with a wicked grin. "Isn't this a turn of events? It looks like Genma was right, you are traitors," she looked at Kakashi and Shin. "And Itachi is alive. Guess I knew I couldn't trust Mark." Izumi stiffened at the name and Itachi held her tighter. Noriko looked over at a grunt. "Find him. Kill him."

Noriko clapped her hands together. "Well, I might as well get rid of all of you now then, hm? Just shooting you all seems boring though. I know, we should push them out of a window!"

"You conniving witch." Kakashi growled.

Noriko smirked, "I don't think Iruka would like that talk." Kakashi balled his fists. "Hey, you," she pointed at another guard. "Remind me to send the sad news to Iruka and Sai. Unfortunately their loved ones have to die. Alright I want to watch this. To the North window,"

Itachi remembered what Mark told him and thought quickly. He leaned down and whispered in Izumi's ear. "On my cue, run to the Southwest window, give Shosuke to Kakashi. Wait for me." She nodded, but he could tell she was scared. They began to get shoved by the guards. There were ten of them, all armed. Never good. Itachi shuffled to the back and took a deep breath. He knocked one of the guns out of a guards hand and knocked him out, before the others could start shooting he grabbed Noriko and passed her to Shin. He took the cue and held her in front of the guns. Itachi knocked out two more guards and yelled at Izumi to run.

Izumi gave Shosuke to Kakashi and ran as fast as she could.

"Let me go you filthy idiots!"

Shin covered her mouth. The guards were at a loss. Itachi, Shin, and Kakashi backed away slowly. Noriko bit Shin's hand and he yelped, backing away. He kept his grip on her tight though. "Shoot! Forget about me, just shoot!" The guards hesitated, "Did you fucking hear me!? _Shoot_!" The guards gathered the courage to shoot and did as told. Shin hid from the shots at the same time Itachi grabbed Shosuke to guard him from the fire. Noriko began to laugh wickedly until her leg was shot and she fell in pain. Shin left her there and began to run with Kakashi in tow. Itachi yelled at them to find a way out with me he ran towards the Southwest window, he saw Izumi waiting impatiently, reacting to the gunshots. He figured he wouldn't make it and shouted at her what to do, "Jump!"

"Itachi, what?"

He stopped in front of her, tired and passed Shosuke towards her. "Hold his head and protect his ears, keep him tight towards your body." She did so. "Now, do you trust me?"

Izumi nodded wholeheartedly. "Then jump. You'll be fine."

"I – What about you?"

He smiled and kissed her like it was the last time. "I'll be fine. Now jump." She felt tears pool up and nodded. She counted to three and jumped just as he heard the trademark sirens of the ANBU enter the building. He remembered the area he came in and thought to go there.

Izumi held Shosuke tight and made sure nothing could happen to him in case this crazy idea backfired. She didn't care open her eyes and was sure she was about to collide with the ground until she felt someone hastily catch her. She gasped and barely registered that she was alive. The person helped her to her feet and let her catch her breath. She checked on Shosuke and saw that he was fine and actually seemed to have enjoyed the fall. She sighed in relief. She turned around to see who exactly just caught her and felt the wind in her lungs get knocked out.

"Hey again." Mark spoke smugly. "You still look good after falling out of a window."

If this was Itachi's idea of 'do you trust me?' she wasn't liking it. "Why are you- how did you know to – "

"I gave Itachi a tip." Mark seemed to want to say more and grit his teeth. He sighed and stared into her eyes. Izumi rose a brow and he looked away. "Sorry."

"I'm – What did you just say?"

"I said sorry. For everything."

Izumi wanted to laugh. "Just an hour ago you were threatening to rape me and now you're sorry? Oh, did Itachi kick your ass and now you don't want me to tell him to do it again?"

"I was putting on a façade. I didn't know if Noriko could be listening but I don't care now. So yeah sorry. You don't have to forgive, I know you won't. I, uh…yeah." Mark hugged and walked away from the police cars and the commotion. Izumi watched him walk away and shook her head. _He's not sorry. Stop trying to forgive people._

.

Itachi was able to avoid the ANBU and all the guards were busy fighting those same guards off. The exit was close to wear Noriko got shot, he found out. He was about to leave when something or someone grabbed his shin. He looked down and saw Noriko there with a gun pointed up at him.

"Hah, hah, hah….got you." She panted and the hand with the gun was shaking.

"…You're actually insane."

"I know." She pointed the gun to his face, "And I don't care. I've spent my life, my entire life to live up to Danzo. Danzo is my mentor, a father figure, I loved him and your family forced me to have to kill him. I'm not going to let you all walk free. If you just paid your dues with the Foundation then you wouldn't be in this situation. I'm going to end you and your family." She was able to drag herself up to slightly stand despite the wound in her leg. "Even if I die, even if I'm sent to an insane asylum, even if I get locked away and they throw away the key, I won't let any of you walk free. I will haunt your memories, your dreams, I'll make you regret your entire life. You may not forgive me for my convictions, but you'll never forget me."

Itachi was stunned. She was about to pull the trigger when a dart hit her from behind and she fainted. He has now avoided death three times. He looked up and saw Sarutobi himself. "Saru?"

"Itachi? You should get out of here. Things are getting messy. Your family is outside, including Sasuke. We found some stuff that will help." Yeah, he found that stuff too. Itachi nodded and ran outside, he looked at his motorcycle and hopped on it, he drove to the front of the building. There were FBI gathered around everywhere as if they were escorting some top of the line criminal. Sarutobi was right, everyone we there. He saw someone in a orange jumpsuit and got off his bike running towards them. He saw an ANBU member walk up and they were discussing something about information being sent to the precinct already and paperwork was an easy issue for ANBU.

Ibiki had Sasuke next to him and by then Itachi was in perfect earshot. Sasuke pushed his hands forwards as Ibiki took the handcuffs off of him. Sasuke got a smug look on his face then. Ibiki rolled his eyes and released Sasuke to the family. Itachi smiled and looked towards Kakashi and Shin approaching them. He saw Izumi hand Shosuke to Shisui and Hana (Hana had bandages on and looked sickly but happy). He noticed she began looking around for him and he walked towards her with a smile. He didn't mind hugging her for the rest of his life really. He overheard Sasuke.

"Well, this was a nice little reunion, thanks Ibiki, you're the best." Ibiki looked like he'd been dealing with Sasuke's snarky behavior forever and seemed like he wanted to punch him. Itachi didn't blame him.

Mikoto hugged Sasuke with no restraint. Sasuke was shocked for a second but hugged her back. Fugaku let down his cold man exterior and hugged him as well. Shisui, being dramatic, pretended to cry and joined the hug next. Then came Obito, Rin, Madara, Izuna, and so on and so forth.

ANBU began shutting down the facility that Root was hiding. Itachi heard screaming and turned to see Sarutobi hauling Noriko out in hand cuffs as she was struggling. "Let me go! I did what I had to do! Get off of me, _get off!"_ They read her rights to her and placed her in an FBI car.

"Hey." Itachi brought his attention back to Izumi and smiled.

"Hey." He replied. Izumi snuggled into his side.

She looked up at him with a smile and looked like she realized something that made her want to kiss him. "You came for me." Itachi didn't think she understood that he would've come regardless if all of this could've transpired without him.

"Always." Itachi kissed her sweetly. "I missed you." Izumi sniffed and he felt bad for having her cry so much, but he knew they were tears of joy. "I'm sorry I took so long."

Izumi shook her head. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me. With the trial I keep hearing about, there's going to be a lot of backlash. I'll be here for you when you need it. If you want a hug, a kiss, a shoulder to cry on," Itachi stiffened, "Don't be shy about it. It's human."

Itachi pouted, "I'd rather you forgot about that."

Izumi giggled, "I'm flattered you love me to the point of tears. And don't worry, you still look cute even when crying."

Itachi snorted, "As if I didn't know that." Izumi shook her head fondly.

"So pretentious." They locked eyes for a while and thought about everything they'd been through together. All the issues they've gone through and all they had to endure to get to this point. Their relationship started off rocky and had its moments where they didn't know if they could keep going, but here they were. After two and a half years together with wet cheeks because they loved each other and always found their way back to each other. Izumi sucked back her tears as did Itachi (he was tired of doing it even though it's the first time in a while) and thought the same thing. Itachi said it aloud first.

_"God_, I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

**T.T **

**It's been a while, I'm sorry. But school is reaching its finishing point and I need to cram and then there's work too (also planning a freaking WEDDING so there's that, but it's not for a while). My health isn't the best right now but I didn't want to disappoint. My doggo has been worried.**

**So constructive and nice R&R for the doggo if not for me.**

**~SpaceIsTheLimit~**


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